Not-politics
I'd like to talk about Hillary Clinton for a few minutes in a most unusual way: as a human being. I know a lot of people have a lot of baggage with her, whether it comes from all the way back in the 90s or is of more recent vintage. I'm not going to talk about whether you should vote for her or not. Instead, I'm just going to talk about how, as I watched some of the highlights of last night's debate, I was struck by this moment.
Donald Trump: "Bill Clinton was abusive to women. Hillary Clinton attacked those same women." #debates #Debates2016 https://t.co/tTxt1Fu2zk
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) October 10, 2016
At 40 seconds in, when Trump mentions Bill Cilnton, they cut to a split-screen to show Hillary's reaction and I just had to wonder: how long did she have to practice that poker face? [I know there is an answer to this that involves the word Benghazi but I don't want to hear it right now because I am not talking about politics kthx.] How many tears (of sadness and rage and frustration) did she have to get out of her system ahead of time in order to not spill them on that stage? How many times have she and Bill had The Fight - probably not even about the initial infidelity(ies) anymore, but instead about the fact that said infidelity(ies) will remain a spectre in Hillary's political career until the end of time?
I realize this woman is a political candidate and that there is a lot to dislike about her and technically our society has decided it's all fair game, including, like, the time you put the family dog on top of the car when you took a road trip as a kid, but again, I'm talking about Hillary as a human being.
SPEAKING OF. When this latest Trump thing came out - the video of him talking about sexual assaults he had attempted and committed - there was all this condemnation being issued from all corners of the political spectrum. It came from men, and it was couched in terms like "as the father of three daughters, I reject Trump's treatment of women." Or "this kind of thing is an insult to my dear wife." Etc. You guys, it was like The Toast come to life.
What Trump said was disgusting enough, I would think, to be outraged at as, like, a human being who lives on this planet. There was no need to remind us of what a woman is in relation to a man - that she is somebody's wife or daughter or mother. What he said and did was just disgusting, full stop.
I wish Hillary's delightful (regardless of what you think of her, surely) shoulder shimmy could make All The Problems go away. But in the meantime, we'll have to rely on Kenneth Bone: the human version of a hug and the real winner of the debate.